China Travel Desk’s Q1 2026 Travel Sentiment Survey: Airport retail intent holds at 64.3%

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By Atoosa Ryanne Arfa

Published March 17, 2026

China Trading Desk (CTD) has released findings from its Q1 2026 China Outbound Travel Survey, showing that China outbound travel has settled into a more routine market, but travel retail remains a live commercial opportunity.

While near-term travel softened to 21.6%, airport travel retail propensity held at 64.3%, down just 0.2 percentage points versus the previous quarter. The clearest story for retail is no longer whether demand exists, but whether brands and operators can convert it once travelers are already in motion.

HNWI travelers lead conversion prospects

The report finds that airport retail intent remains concentrated in more confident, conversion-ready audiences. HNWI travelers reach 76.0% on airport retail propensity, while frequent travelers reach 71.8%; by contrast, first-time travelers fall to 51.9%. That makes repeat and premium-capable travelers the most actionable pool for travel retail teams looking to drive basket growth in a narrower decision window.

Category demand is also becoming clearer. Beauty products lead duty-free purchase intent, followed by fashion and luxury accessories, with fragrances, souvenirs, and fine food forming a strong middle tier. In the report’s stakeholder summary, CTD identifies beauty and fragrance as the clearest category levers for retail conversion, especially when paired with stronger value proof and clearer visibility before travelers reach store.

Product search vs price & value

At the same time, the report highlights a clear intent-versus-conversion gap. Among travelers who do not purchase duty-free, the biggest barriers are not lack of desire, but retail fundamentals: 33% say they cannot find the brands or products they want, 28% say prices are too high, and 21% say there is not enough time. The report also shows that duty-free shopping is motivated first by discounted prices compared to home market and guaranteed genuine products, reinforcing that trust and value still do more work than theatre alone.

For travel retail brands, the strongest plays sit earlier in the journey and closer to the transaction close. Shopping planning is led by travel apps, Xiaohongshu (RedNote), and destination websites, while shopping research happens mainly before departure rather than after arrival.

CTD’s report argues that retail teams should treat discovery, planning, and airport conversion as one connected runway: build preference early in creator and utility channels, then convert in the post-ticket window with reserve-to-pickup, clearer product visibility, and stronger price reassurance.

Airport operators face the same challenge from a different angle. The report finds that most travelers still see airport retail as part of a broader downtown-plus-airport shopping journey rather than the main shopping destination. Only 5% say they shop mostly at the airport, while the largest shares lean toward downtown-heavy patterns. In this environment, the commercial task is to reduce friction fast: make the right brands easier to find, make promotions easier to understand, and make stopping feel faster than walking past.

The report also points to practical activation levers that can move duty-free engagement. Price promotions and free gifts with purchase are the strongest airport event trigger at 36%, followed by tastings and samplings at 27%. More broadly, over three quarters of travelers say staff assistance is important in the duty-free purchase journey, showing that service still matters when the shopper is deciding quickly.

“China outbound is no longer a simple rebound story for travel retail,” said Subramania Bhatt, Founder & CEO of China Trading Desk. “Intent is there, but the close is harder. The winning brands will be the ones that build preference earlier, make value more legible, and remove the friction that still stops spend from landing.”

The Q1 2026 report concludes that travel retail is still well placed to capture value from China outbound, but the market now rewards sharper execution over broad exposure. In CTD’s view, the next phase belongs to operators and brands that connect inspiration, planning, and airport conversion into one joined-up journey.